Pete Sampras, start worrying. If he doesn’t get bored, Roger Federer might become a serious threat to Sampras’ most treasured record – 14 Grand Slam titles.

Four down, 10 to go for the Swiss maestro. Federer erased any lingering doubts yesterday in officially stamping himself for future greatness in winning his landmark first U.S. Open, making tennis look like a work of art with his array of elegant strokes.

Fededer racked up his fourth career Slam yesterday, and third of the year, in handing out bagels like the owner of a deli.

In winning the match’s first eight games, Federer outclassed Australian Lleyton Hewitt 6-0, 7-6 (7-3), 6-0 at Ashe Stadium. He is the first player to post two bagels in an Open final since 1884 when Richard Sears beat Howard Taylor.

He’s also the first man since Mats Wilander in 1988 to win three Slams in a calendar year and becomes a sincere candidate to win a 2005 Grand Slam – sweeping all four majors in a calendar year. Rod Laver was the last men’s player to do so in 1968.

The biggest question from the tennis cognoscenti entering the Open was whether Federer could handle the distractions and elements of New York. He had fallen in the fourth round in the three previous years, but during this fortnight he ate the entire Big Apple, chewed it to the core and spit it out, even handling gale-like winds in dispatching Andre Agassi.

“It’s an incredible accomplishment to win three Grand Slams in a year,” he said afterwards. “I don’t think people realize how hard it is.”

The last time an Open finals victim won just six total games was 13 years ago when Stefan Edberg crushed Jim Courier. Like Hewitt, Courier had also entered the Finals having not dropped a set.

The first set was over quicker than John McEnroe’s speech beforehand as he entered the Ashe Stadium Court of Champions. And McEnroe’s honoring seemed appropriate on this day. In this age of raw power, titanium rackets and 154-mph serves, Federer, like McEnroe, makes the game look graceful with his assortment of spins, slices and volleys.

Federer received a standing ovation from the Ashe Stadium crowd at the conclusion of the one-hour, 51-minute match.

“It’s always very important to play well in the finals and come out and win the match. 6-0 was a perfect start,” said Federer, the only player to go 4-0 in his first four Slam finals.

Federer kept virtually every ball deep and heavy, throwing in an occasional low sliced backhand and a foray to the net where his backhand drop volley is sweeter than McEnroe’s. Hewitt was completely befuddled and the normally stoic Aussie started overhitting and smacking balls into the top of the net.

“His shot-making is second to none,” Hewitt said. “Andre was a shot-maker, too, but Roger plays with more flair.”

In the first set, Hewitt won just five points. On two of the three times Federer broke Hewitt’s serve, the Aussie double-faulted on break point, including the first game, during which Federer assaulted him with three straight forehand winners.

After holding to make it 2-0, Federer broke again for a 3-0 lead. At 30-30, he played a trademark point, mashing forehands and slicing backhands to the other side, mixing the pace before Hewitt mishit a backhand into the twine.

After Hewitt won a rare point early in the second set, a wiseacre fan shouted, “Lleyton, you got him right where you wanted him.”

But mostly the Open crowd, wanting to see a competition, started pulling hard for Hewitt, and he raised his game, starting to pound the ball deeper.

After falling behind 2-0 in the second set, Hewitt played Federer even, and finally broke back to tie it at 5-5, prevailing in a game that featured six deuces and four break points.

But he ran out of steam in the tiebreaker, as Federer swept to a 4-0 lead, on the verge of another shutout. An under-pressure Hewitt slapped a backhand low into the net on set point.

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Swept Away

Top seed Roger Federer of Switzerland continued his amazing run at the U.S. Open with a dominating win yesterday in the men’s singles final over Australian Lleyton Hewitt, winning 6-0, 7-6 (7-3), 6-0: